Stony Brook Researchers Help Discover New Types of Lunar Rock

Scientists at Stony Brook University and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found new evidence that the moon is more geologically complex than previously thought.

Using data from an instrument called the Diviner Lunar Radiometer, they discovered materials abnormally rich in silica in the moon's crustal highlands in five distinct regions.

Dr. Timothy Glotch, assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook and lead author of one of two papers on the research in a recent issue of Science, said scientists knew for decades that the moon's crustal highlands were different from other regions, but couldn't determine why. Now, he said, they have the evidence, which will lead to refined ideas about the moon's formation.

"In layman's terms, we have discovered a new and fundamentally different type of rock on the moon," Glotch said.

The Diviner provides scientists with high-resolution infrared maps of the moon, which have enabled scientists to explore in more depth the composition of the moon's crust.

Previous characterizations of lunar geology deemed it primitive, with two basic categories: the moon's anorthositic highlands, which are rich in calcium and aluminum, and the moon's basaltic maria, which are rich in iron and magnesium.  The new findings indicate that other, more complex geologic occurrences, such as magmatic processing, may have led to the formation of the moon's landscape.

"The silicic features we've found on the moon are fundamentally different from the more typical basaltic mare and anorthositic highlands," Glotch said. "The fact that we see this composition in multiple geologic settings suggests that there may have been multiple processes producing these rocks."